First reading 2 Timothy 1:1-3,6-12
God’s gift is the Spirit of power, love and self-control
From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers. That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News; and I have been named its herald, its apostle and its teacher.
It is only on account of this that I am experiencing fresh hardships here now; but I have not lost confidence, because I know who it is that I have put my trust in, and I have no doubt at all that he is able to take care of all that I have entrusted to him until that Day.
Responsorial Psalm 122(123):1-2
To you, O Lord I lifted up my eyes.
To you have I lifted up my eyes,
you who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, like the eyes of slaves
on the hand of their Lords.
Like the eyes of servant
on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God,
till he show us his mercy.
Gospel Mark 12:18-27
The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living
Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’
Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’
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Fan into flame
In the first reading, St Paul writes to Timothy, “Fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” Timothy has received a call and a mission, but St Paul is worried that exhaustion, fear, rejection, and routine might weaken the fire of faith in him. He urges Timothy not to let his gift lie dormant, but to stir it up by remembering God’s call, facing fear with trust, and leaning on the Holy Spirit who is already at work in him. As we strive to fulfil our calling and mission as Christ’s disciples, we may face challenges, but let us embrace St Paul’s message: the Spirit in us is not one of timidity, but He gives us the strength to love, serve, and remain faithful to the very end.
In the Gospel, Jesus, in responding to the Sadducees’ question about marriage in the resurrection, says that God is “not God of the dead, but of the living.” We are people of the resurrection who belong to the God of the living. This identity helps us make daily choices that show our love for God. It allows us to live in freedom, being more loving and less anxious.
Reflective question:
What decision can I make today to show my love for the God of the living?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
